Shower curtain closing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sheet clamp means clamps the vertical edge of a bathtub shower curtain adjacent a wall to provide an effective seal. The clamp means includes a camming means which applies forces to rotate pins carrying a swinging clamp plate. Both gravity-actuated and force-actuated sheet clamps are shown.

United States Patent inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented SHOWER CURTAINCLOSING APPARATUS 7 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 4/149, 24/263 Int. Cl A47k 3/14, A47k 3/16 Field of Search 4/149,153, 154, 155, 1; 24/263, 73

40 j WJ a b 41- I48 1) r 1 2c \K 2c z 43b 43c. N 43c 40 A- to U 2e 39 2b F 12 b [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,303,502 12/ 1942Rous 4/149 X 2,771,945 11/1956 Wittrup 4/ 149 X 2,840,827 7/1958 Calvano4/149 2,864,096 12/1958 Garber 4/149 3,205,547 9/1965 Rieksa 4/154 XPrimary Examiner-Henry K. Artis Att0meyRichard G. Stephens ABSTRACT: Asheet clamp means clamps the vertical edge of a bathtub shower curtainadjacent a wall to provide an effective seal. The clamp means includes acamming means which applies forces to rotate pins carrying a swingingclamp plate. Both gravity-actuated and force-actuated sheet clamps areshown.

PATENTEU JAN 4 i972 SHEET 3 UF 4 SHOWER CURTAIN CLOSING APPARATUS Myinvention relates to closure and sheet clamp devices, and moreparticularly, to an improved arrangement for closing shower curtainsused with bathtubs or shower stalls. Bathtubs equipped with showerfixtures are commonly equipped with plastic or cloth shower curtainsslidably suspended on a curtain rod which extends the length of the tub,and which is mounted 4 or 5 feet above the outer edge of the tub. Threevertical sides of a shower enclosure are ordinarily formed by threewalls extending upwardly from three sides of the tub, and the showercurtain, when closed, forms a fourth wall. In order to prevent waterfrom splashing onto the floor outside the tub off of an occupant of thetub, or off of walls partially surrounding the tub, it is necessary thatthe vertical edges of the shower curtain lie closely adjacent the wallsat the ends of the tub, without gaps through which water may splash.Whether water tends to splash out past one end or the other end of theshower curtain, or past both ends, tends to depend upon the angle atwhich the shower head is adjusted. Changing the angle decreases leakageadjacent one end of the tub but increases leakage at the other end ofthe tub. In installations where rather long tubs are provided, theshower head can be directed to spray in a direction having a substantialhorizontal component and an occupant can stand sufficiently far awayfrom the shower fixture, sometimes little water tends to splash out atthe end of the tub where the shower nozzle is located, but mostly at theother end of the tub. In installations using shorter tubs, so that thenozzle stream must be directed more downwardly and the occupant muststand nearer the nozzle, it is usually necessary that both verticaledges of the curtain lie snugly against their respective end walls ifdeflection of water onto the outside floor is to be avoided. Fordecorative purposes many homeowners employ two shower curtains suspendedfrom the curtain rod, including an inner shower curtain ordinarily madeof waterproof plastic or rubber sheet and adapted to hang with its loweredge inside the tub, and an outer curtain frequently comprising aprinted cloth fabric which is intended to hang with its lower edgeoutside the tub. Loops or the like which attach the upper edge of theinner curtain to the curtain rod are ordinarily spaced in staggered relation between loops holding the upper edge of the outer curtain, so thatthe two curtains open and close together.

Both cloth and plastic shower curtains are necessarily made veryflexible so that they may be slid easily to one end or the other of thecurtain rod to allow entry into and egress from the tub. The flexibilityof such curtains tends to allow their edges to be moved away from thewalls by air currents and water streams within the shower enclosure andsometimes by various movements of a person within the tub, so that waterfrequently is splashed on the floor adjacent the tub. Some plasticcurtains tend to acquire some set when bunched at one end of the curtainrod, and that set also makes it difficult to position a curtain so as toavoid leakage onto the floor, Water on the floor adjacent the tub notonly may provide a serious safety hazard, but it also may damagesubflooring and the like. Similar problems attend the use of hangingshower curtains intended to cover the doorway ofa stall shower.

One prior art attempt to overcome such problems involves the use ofmagnets spaced along the lower edge of a shower curtain, so that themagnets will be attracted to the inside surface of the edge or rim of asteel or iron tub and hold the curtain against the inside of the tub.The magnets are used on the inner curtain, of course, if an outerdecorative curtain is used. The lower edge of the curtain containing themagnets must hang inside the tub to prevent leakage of water onto thefloor outside the tub. At least one of the inside walls of bathroom tubsordinarily slopes inwardly as well as downwardly in order to provide acomfortable sloping surface for tub bathing. The inward slope preventsone from locating a magnet on the bottom edge of the curtain directlybelow the end of the curtain rod to hold the vertical edge of thecurtain taut and straight down, and hence, it is sometimes impossible toplace the magnets so that open gaps between the curtain and the walls donot exist. Magnets are also disadvantageous in that movement of amagnet, whether due to air turbulence or movements of the person withinthe tub, results in the magnet then tending to hold the curtainpartially open. Furthermore, some tub installations, such as thoseformed from fiberglass, are nonmagnetic, as are most stall showers, sothat magnets may not be used.

The serious deficiencies of magnetic curtain-closing ar rangements arein some respects overcome by the use of sliding plastic or glass rigiddoors in lieu ofa shower curtain. Such arrangements commonly include apair of doors which slide in pairs of adjacent tracks. one pair oftracks being mounted overhead, and another pair being mounted lengthwisealong the tub atop the flat rim or ledge of the tub. While sucharrangements effectively overcome the leakage problem associated withmagnet held curtains. they have several other marked disadvantages. Forexample, no matter how the doors are slid, only one-half of the lengthof the tub can beopen" at any time. Such a limitation is verydisadvantageous when one attempts to bathe an infant in the tub if theinfant slides to the portion of the tub blocked by the pair of doors.The pair of sliding door tracks extending along the rim of the tub arealso extremely uncomfortable to sit upon, or for one to rest on whileleaning over the edge of the tub to bathe an infant. The tracks are alsovery difficult to keep clean, and indeed if they are kept perfectlyclean and free from grease and the like, the sliding doors sometimestend to stick. Another common type of tub-shower door arrangementincludes a pair of folding doors, one of which is hinged at one end of apair of upper and lower tracks, and the other of which slides along thetracks as the doors are opened and closed. The doors may be folded intheir wide open position so that they lie adjacent the wall opposite theshower fixture. While this arrangement allows substantially the entirelength of the tub to be open when desired. it also has the mentioneddisadvantages of the tracks. It is further disadvantageous in that onemust get inside the tub and close the folding doors in order to cleanthe wall against which the doors fold, and in that one cannotconveniently mount a towel bar on that wall. A number of persons dislikeshower doors, due to a fear, perhaps unjustified in most instances, ofbeing cut by broken glass or plastic doors. The tracks associated withshower doors can appreciably increase the probability of lacerations dueto falls in or near a bathtub. The cost of shower door installations ona bathtub is also far greater than that of a shower curtain, and theproper installa tion of shower doors ordinarily requires a fairlyskilled mechanic. The weight of shower doors requires that they befastened to wall studding or the like, using heavy lag screws, so thatholes must be drilled through wall tile. The holes are unsightly if doortrim is later removed.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improvedshower curtain closing arrangement which overcomes the mentioneddisadvantages of prior curtain arrangements, and which does not have anyof the disadvantages of the mentioned shower door arrangements. It willbecome ap parent, moreover, as the description proceeds, that thepresent invention provides a sheet-clamping means having wide utility inmany applications other than shower curtain applications, and a broadobject of the present invention is to provide an improved sheet'clampingmeans which will securely hold the edge of a sheet, without any need forgrommets or fasteners of any type to be provided in the edge of thesheet. Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will,in part, appear hereinafter.

A central concept of the present invention as applied to a tub showercurtain clamping application involves the provision of an elongatedvertically extending clamping means mounted against the wall at one endof the tube and extending upwardly from the rim of the tub, the clampingmeans being adapted to grip a vertical edge of the shower curtain alonga substantial portion of its length, and thereby maintain an effectivecurtain position which prevents water from being splashed outside theshower enclosure formed by the tub, the three surrounding walls and theshower curtain. To be readily usable by persons of all ages and simplyoperated to effectively clamp a curtain edge without tedious curtainadjustments, the clamp is gravity operated, so that it will hold theedge of the curtain with a predetermined desired force. The clamp isarranged to trip the curtain with the predetermined force no matter howfar the clamp is closed, within wide limits, so that the clamp will gripthe curtain with the predetermined force even if the edge of the curtainis somewhat wrinkled, and irrespective of the thickness of the curtainedge. Furthermore, the clamp is operable very simply between open andclosed positions, it will automatically latch in a wide-open position.and it will automatically close without adjustment to whatever closedposition is made necessary by the thickness ofthe curtain edge. In someinstallations a clamping means will be provided at only one end of atub, while in other installations a pair of clamping means will be used,one at each end of the tub. While the invention will be described inconnection with a tub shower, it will become apparent that the inventionis readily applicable to use with a shower curtain which extends acrossa conventional shower stall.

' The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangement of parts, which will heexemplified in the constructions hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the inventionreference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a conventional tub-shower arrangementwith one form of the invention installed, except that the shower curtainused with the arrangement has been omitted for sake of clarity.

FIG.1a is a plan view taken at lines la-la in FIG. 1.

FIG.2a is a view taken at lines 2a-2a in FIG. 1 and enlarged, exceptthat the improved clamp of the invention is shown in closed position inFIG. 1 and in an open position in F IG.2a.

FIGS. 2!) through 2e are section views taken as indicated by similarlydesignated section lines in FIGS. 2a and 20.

FIG, 3a is a view similar to FIG.2a but with the clamp shown in apartially closed condition.

FIG. 4 is a geometrical diagram useful in understanding the operation ofthe invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view ofa portion of a modified form of the invention,and FIG. 5a is a view taken at lines 5a5a in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 is a top view ofa further modified form of the invention.

In FIG. 1 a typical modern tub shower installation includes a tube 10mounted between end walls 11 and 12 and against sidewall 13. The threewalls 1l-13 commonly comprise lath and plaster and ceramic tile carriedon vertically extending studding members such as 14 and 15. Wall II isshown equipped with an adjustable shower head 16, a mixing valve control17, and hotand cold-water control valves 18 and 19, only one of which isvisible in FIG. 1. Tub 10, which is commonly formed of porcelainizedcast iron or sheet steel, is provided with a conventional faucet 21 anda drain 22. The plumbing connections, which are not shown, all may beassumed to be conventional, and they form no part of the presentinvention. A conventional recessed soap dish 23 is shown mounted in backwall 13. A conventional shower curtain rod 24 extends between end walls11 and 12 at a location above the outer rim 1011 (FIG. 1a) of tub 10.The inside oftub 10 at one end slopes leftwardly as well downwardly, asshown at 101), to provide a comfortable surface against which one canrest ones back while taking a bath.

If a conventional shower curtain (not shown) carrying magnets along itslower edge is slidingly suspended from rod 24, the magnets may be madeto adhere to the inside of the outer wall of tub 10. typically at spacedpoints along a line such as [She 26 in FIG. 1. Because of the inwardslope of the tub as at 1012, the rightmost magnet on the curtain mustadhere to tub 10 no further to the right than at point 10c. Ifa magnetat the corner ofthe curtain grips tub 10 at point 100, the edge of thecurtain will extend approximately along line 27 or line 28 in FIG. I,which depending upon the ease with which the curtain hooks or ringssling along rod 24, and depending upon the tension in the curtain whichin turn is dependent upon the vertical level at which the magnet is madeto adhere to the tub. In either Case, it will be seen that a gap oropening will exist between wall [2 and the edge of the curtain whichwill allow water to be splashed out of the tube onto the bathroom floor30. A similar gap or opening will occur at the other end of the tubadjacent wall 11, although that gap will tend to be less, if the tubwall is less thick and more vertical, as shown in FIG. I, so that thedistance between points l0fand 10g is less than that between points 10cand 10d. The front and rear rims ol most existing tubs have substantialwidth, so that appreciable gaps occur at both vertical edges of a showercurtain held in place by magnets. The gap between the right verticaledge of the curtain and wall 12 may be lessened somewhat if the curtainwidth is made substantially greater than the length of the tub, so thata portion of the curtain can fold around the corner of the tub andextend for some distance toward back wall 13. Such an arrangement isdisadvantageous because longer curtains are most costly, more curtainhooks or rings are required, and the curtain cannot be completely spreadout so that it will dry in a substantially flat condition withoutwrinkles. Furthermore, even though the bottom corner of the curtain thencan be located some distance toward wall 13, the top corner of thecurtain is restrained by rod 24, so that a gap through which water maypass will continue to exist.

In accordance with the present invention, a vertically extending clampmeans generally indicated at 32 is mounted against wall 12 atop the rimof tub 10 at the outer corner of the tub. The clamp means, which isdescribed in detail herein below, includes a handle 33 which theoccupant of the tub may actuate to clamp a substantial length of theright vertical edge of the curtain so that gap or openings through whichwater may pass are eliminated.

As best seen in FIGS.2a2e, the curtain clamp means shown therein in awide-open" position includes a baseplate portion 35 fixedly mounted atthe outer corner of tub 10 atop the flat rim 10a of the tub. Plate 35preferably is provided with a flat bottom surface, and with a slightlyvarying thickness in two dimensions. More specifically, the top surfaceof plate 35 is preferably arranged to slop slightly downwardly to lesserthickness (in the directions indicated by arrows 36 and 37 in FIG. 2b,so that any water which drips on plate 35 tends to run back into thetub, and toward end wall 12. The bottom ofplate 35 is fastened atop rim10a of the tub, preferably by use of a mastic adhesive. Extendingupwardly from baseplate 35 is a generally L-shaped or angle member 39which is fixedly fastened to end wall 12, preferably also by use of amastic cement, although lag screws and the like may be used. Becauseofthe very modest weight of the clamping means of the invention, it maybe adequately held in place with a mere adhesive mastic, so that no lagscrews are required and no holes need be drilled through the wall tile.Member 39 extends upwardly to a short distance below the lever ofcurtain rod 24, as shown in FIG. 1. Clamp plate 40 is swingably mountedto pivot and move relative to fixed member 39 in a manner to bedescribed in detail, handle 33 being attached to clamp plate 40 to allowthe occupant to conveniently lift and lower as well as pivot, the clampplate.

As shown in FIG. 2a, clamp plate 40 is attached to fixed member 39 bytwo pivot pins 41 and 42. Pins 41 and 42 are each fixedly anchored toclamp plate 40, and each extends through a respective slot in member 39,lower pin 41 extending through lower slot 43 in fixed member 39, andupper pin 42 extending through upper slot 44 in fixed member 39. Pins 41and 42 are provided with enlarged ends, preferably ballshaped as shown,to retain them in slots 43 and 44. An enlarged recess is provided inmember 39 behind each of slots 43 and 44 to accommodate the enlargedends of pins 41 and 42, the recess 48 behind lower slot or track 43being indicated in FIGS. 2a, and 2d. Recess 48 is made sufficientlylarger than the ball end of pin 41 to, allow the ball end to slidefreely within the recess without binding.

Tracks or slots 43 and 44 through member 39 each will be seen to includea short substantially horizontal portion and a longer downwardly slopingportion which extends in a direction outwardly from the tub as well asdownwardly. When clamp plate 40 is wide open, as shown in FIG. 2a, theshanks of pins 41 and 42 extend across and rest upon the substantiallyhorizontal upper portions of slots 43and 44, so that there is notendency for clamp plate 40 to close. Fixed member 39 is preferablyprovided with a widened edge as shown at 39a in FIGS. 2b and 2c, andclamp plate 40 with a widened edge as shown at 40a in FIGS. 2a and 20.When clamp plate 40 is pivoted toward a clamping position it pivotsabout a moving axis determined by tracks 43, 44 and pins 41,42, and edge40a of clamp plate swings toward edge 39a of fixed member 39,allowing'the vertical edge of a shower curtain to be securely clampedbetween members 39 and 40.

As the occupant of the tub begins to close the clamp, he pulls thehandle upwardly, i.e., up perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2, therebyunseating the shanks of pins 41 and 42 from the horizontal portions oftracks 43 and 44. The weight of clamp plate 40 thereby causes the clampplate to descend,

with the shanks of pins 41 and 42 riding downwardly, and rightwardly asviewed in FIG. 2a, along tracks or slots 43 and 44. Cam pad portions 43aand 44a situated adjacent slots 43 and 44, respectively, also act onpins 41 and 42 together with portions of slots 43 and 44 so as to rotateplate 40 about a vertical axis which simultaneously moves rightwardly(in FIG. 2a) as pins 42 and 43 slide down tracks 43 and 44. It should benoted that edge 43b of slot 43 is provided with a different slope fromedge 430 of cam 43a.

The principle of operation of each cam and slot may be better understoodby reference to thediagram of FIG. 4. It will i be understood from FIGS.2a and 20 that slot 43 engages pin 41 adjacent the enlarged head of thepin, while cam pad 43a engages pin 41 further from the head end of thepin. In FIG. 4 line 51 represents edge 43b of slot 43 that successivelyengages pin 41 as the pin slides down the slot, and line 52 representsedge 431: of cam pad.43a which successively engages pin 41 as the pinslides down the slot. The pin 41 is shown at five successive verticalpositions and five corresponding angular positions. As the pin is forceddown slot 43 by the weight of clamp plate 40, it will be clear that thevarying distance between lines 51 and 52 will cause the pin to berotated. If the two edges which engage a pin are straight as shown, itwill be appreciated that the relationship between vertical translationand rotation of movable clamp plate will be linear. It is within thescope of the invention, however, to curve one or both of the two edges,so that the rotation per amount of vertical translation varies as theclamp plate closes. Though shown as lines in FIG. 4, the edge 43b ofslot 43 which engages pin 41 and surface 43c of cam pad portion 43aactually are provided with appreciable width, so that they each makeline contact (rather than mere point contact) with pin 41 as the pinmoves down the slot. Pin 42, slot 44, and cam 44a operate in the samefashion, of course, as pin 42, slot 43, and cam 43a. Also, it will beapparent that further similar pinslot-cam connections may be madebetween fixed member 39 and clamp plate 40, if desired. It will beapparent that the amount of pin rotation (and hence clamp plate 40rotation) per amount of vertical movement may be selected easily byselection of the difference in slope between edge 43b and edge 43c.Furthermore, as will be apparent from FIG. 4, the pins (and hence clampplate 40) may be arranged to rotate more (or less) than 90 as theydescend in their respective slots. A substantial difference in slopebetween edges 43b and 430 results in considerable rotation of clampplate 40 for a small amount of vertical displacement of clamp plate 40,which is desirable in that the clamp plate pulls down only very slightlyon the curtain as it clamps the curtain. The very slight pulling down onthe edge of the curtain isadvantageous in that it tends to. maintain theedge taut and straight, but because the downward pull is very slight, noappreciable wear of the curtain results. 7

In order to clamp the shower curtain, the occupant of the tub pulls thecurtain rightwardly as. viewed in FIG. 1 (leftwardly as viewed by theoccupant within the tub) until one comer lies adjacent wall 12. With onehand the occupant may grasp the curtain edge slightly above the level ofplate 35, pulling the curtain edge slightly downwardly to make the edgeslightly taut, so that the edge runs down a portion of fixed member 39and covers edge 39a (FIGS. 2b, 2c). One can press a portion of thecurtain edge down onto plate 35 in order to do so. Then one merely needdislodge clamp plate 40 from the wide open position shown in FIG. 2a,:with ones other hand. The clamp plate then will automatically descendand rotate in the manner described above, thereby clamping the curtainedge along the entire length of clamp plate 40. In order to release thecurtain one need merely lift clamp plate 40 by means of handle 33, theclamp plate rotating to an open position, of course, as it is lifted.

In some installations it will be deemed satisfactory to provide thecurtain clamp at only one vertical edge of the curtain, while clamps atboth edges will be desired in some other installations. It will beapparent at this point without detailed explanation that clamps of thetype shown may be made in rightand left-hand pairs to be installedadjacent opposite ends of the curtain rod. The shower curtain clampdevice shown may be made entirely of metal, such as aluminum or steel,but I prefer for most applications that it be made of various plastics,by injection molding, for example. Cam pads 43a, 44a are preferablymolded integrally with member 39. While various portions of the clampingmeans have been shown with sharp edges and corners for convenience indrafting, it will be apparent that such edges and corners maybe roundedto insure that persons will not be cut or scratched. The very bottom ofslot 48 (FIG. 2a) and other similar slots is preferably slanted slightlyso that any water which enters those slots will drain from the slots,run down member 39, across plate 35, and into the tub. Pins such as 41and 42 may be made separately from plate 40 and then screwed into orcemented in holes in plate 40. Alternatively, however, it is possible tomold pins 41 and 42 integrally with plate 40 and then snap theirenlarged heads into place within slots such as 48 by temporarilydeforming member 48 at the upper portions of slots 43 and 44, if member39 is made from a sufficiently resilient plastic material.

FIG. 6 diagrammatically illustrates a top view of a modified form of theinvention comprising a reversal of the previous embodiment in that thepin 41' carrying the ball-shaped end (not shown) is fixedly mounted onthe stationary member 39, and the camming slot (not shown) is providedin the movable clamping plate 40'. Clamping plate 40 is shown in awideopen position in FIG. 6. As the plate is closed to clamp a curtainedge, the camming slot in plate 40 rides downwardly on pin 41', and theslot is shaped to cause plate 40' to rotate in the same manner as plate40 of the preferred embodiment. Because the operation is directlyinverse to that of the preferred embodiment, further explanation of FIG.6 is deemed unnecessary.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention described in connectionwith a shower installation utilizes the weight of the pivoting clamppiece to automatically rotate the clamp piece as the clamp is closed,the clamping means of the present invention may be used in a variety ofapplications, such as horizontal applications, where other means areutilized to close the clamp. FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of a modifiedform of clamping means which may be used in either horizontal orvertical applications. Reference numerals corresponding to similar partsof FIG. 3a are shown, and movable clamp piece 40 is shown in a partiallyclosed position similar to the position shown in FIG. 311. As clamppiece 40 is moved downwardly in FIG. 5 to close the clamp, camming clots(not shown in FIG. in fixed member 39 similar to those in FIG. 30 movepiece 40 leftwardly relative to fixed member 39. When the clamp is lessthan fully closed, shaft 55 extending from piece 40 enters slot 56 inblock 57 fixed to member 39. The tightening of wing nut 58 then urgeswasher 59 against face 57a of block 57, exerting a leftward pull onpiece 40 relative to member 39. Face 57a is preferably canted as shownso that friction between the wing nut and block 57 do not preventfurther motion of shaft 55 down into slot 56. The leftward force, whichacts in the same manner as gravity does in FIG. 3a, but with muchgreater force, allows the clamp to be closed very tightly. The clamp ofFIG. 5 has the advantage over various prior clamps in that the clampingforce between the movable and fixed pieces 39 and 40 may be made veryuniform along the whole length of members 39 and 40 even though theforce is applied only at one end of the assembly, since the clampingforce depends solely on the angle provided between the two edges of eachcamming slot. If desired, for some special application, the anglebetween the working edges of the various camming slots can be made todiffer, so that a sheet would be clamped with different amounts of forceat different points along its edge, and, if desired, cam padscorresponding in principle to 43a, 44a in FIG. 2a could be madeadjustable in position on piece 39 so as to allow various patterns ofvariation in clamping force. While a bolt-nut device is shown providedas a means to provide translation of piece 40 relative fixed member 39,a variety of different force producing means may be used in differentapplications of the invention, such as springs or levers, for example.Whether mounted vertically or horizontally, the sheet clamp of thepresent invention may be used to clamp the edges ofa wide variety ofsheetlike devices, including rigid or semirigid sheets as well asflexible sheets. For example, the device of FIG. 5 may be used to clampthe edge of a canvas canopy which extends generally horizontally over atrailer, or to clamp the lower edge of a triangular sailboat sail to aboom, or to clamp any sheetlike device without any requirement forgrommets or the like. In applications where great clamping forces arerequired, it will be apparent that metal construction will be requiredin lieu ofplastic.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, andsince certain changes may be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a tub shower installation having a tub, a wall extending upwardlyfrom the upper rim of a portion of said tub, a curtain rod extendingtoward said wall at a level above said upper rim of said tub, and aflexible shower curtain suspended from said curtain rod, the combinationof an elongated releasable clamping means adapted to clamp a verticaledge of said shower curtain, said clamping means comprising a fixedmember mounted against and extending upwardly against said wall and amovable plate member pivotally attached to said fixed member, wherebysaid movable plate member may be pivoted to clamp said edge of saidshower curtain between said fixed member and said movable plate member.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said movable platemember is pivotally attached to said fixed member with agravity-operated hinge connection, whereby the weight of said movableplate member tends to urge said movable plate means toward said fixedmember with a force dependent upon the weight of said plate member.

3. The combination according to claim I wherein said fixed memberincludes a downwardly sloping slot and said movable member includes pinmeans adapted to move within said slot as said movable member is pivotedrelative to said fixed member.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said fixed member isgenerally L-shaped in cross section and includes a first plate portionmounted against said wall and a second plate portion extendingperpendicularly to said first plate portion, said movable plate memberbeing pivotally attached to said first plate portion of said fixedmember and adapted to clamp said edge of said shower curtain to saidsecond plate portion of said fixed member.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said movable platemember is adapted to pivot about a vertical axis which translatesrelative to said fixed member as said movable plate member is pivoted.

6. The combination according to claim 1 having pin means rigidlyattached to and extending from said movable member, said fixed memberhaving means for slidingly capturing one end of said pin means, a firstdownwardly sloping edge adapted to engage said pin means at a firstdistance from said end of said pin means, and a second downwardlysloping edge adapted to engage said pin means at a different distancefrom said end of said pin means, said first and second edges havingdiffering slopes, whereby movement of said pin means along said edgescauses rotation of said pin means and said movable member about avertical axis.

7. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said movable memberincludes pin means rigidly attached to and extending from said movablemember to pivotally attach said movable member to said fixed member,said fixed member including slot means through which said pin meansextends and said pin means having an enlarged end to retain said pinmeans within said slot means, said slot means having first and secondedges arranged to engage said pin means at different distances from saidenlarged end.

1. In a tub shower installation having a tub, a wall extending upwardlyfrom the upper rim of a portion of said tub, a curtain rod extendingtoward said wall at a level above said upper rim of said tub, and aflexible shower curtain suspended from said curtain rod, the combinationof an elongated releasable clamping means adapted to clamp a verticaledge of said shower curtain, said clamping means comprising a fixedmember mounted against and extending upwardly against said wall and amovable plate member pivotally attached to said fixed member, wherebysaid movable plate member may be pivoted to clamp said edge of saidshower curtain between said fixed member and said movable plate member.2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said movable platemember is pivotally attached to said fixed member with agravity-operated hinge connection, whereby the weight of said movableplate member tends to urge said movable plate means toward said fixedmember with a force dependent upon the weight of said plate member. 3.The combination according to claim 1 wherein said fixed member includesa downwardly sloping slot and said movable member includes pin meansadapted to move within said slot as said movable member is pivotedrelative to said fixed member.
 4. The combination according to claim 1wherein said fixed member is generally L-shaped in cross section andincludes a first plate portion mounted against said wall and a secondplate portion extending perpendicularly to said first plate portion,said movable plate member being pivotally attached to said first plateportion of said fixed member and adapted to clamp said edge of saidshower curtain to said second plate portion of said fixed member.
 5. Thecombination according to claim 1 wherein said movable plate member isadapted to piVot about a vertical axis which translates relative to saidfixed member as said movable plate member is pivoted.
 6. The combinationaccording to claim 1 having pin means rigidly attached to and extendingfrom said movable member, said fixed member having means for slidinglycapturing one end of said pin means, a first downwardly sloping edgeadapted to engage said pin means at a first distance from said end ofsaid pin means, and a second downwardly sloping edge adapted to engagesaid pin means at a different distance from said end of said pin means,said first and second edges having differing slopes, whereby movement ofsaid pin means along said edges causes rotation of said pin means andsaid movable member about a vertical axis.
 7. The combination accordingto claim 1 wherein said movable member includes pin means rigidlyattached to and extending from said movable member to pivotally attachsaid movable member to said fixed member, said fixed member includingslot means through which said pin means extends and said pin meanshaving an enlarged end to retain said pin means within said slot means,said slot means having first and second edges arranged to engage saidpin means at different distances from said enlarged end.